Evaluating building ventilation for indoor air quality investigations.

Details

• Personal Author:
  Salisbury, Stanley A.
• Description:
  Methods which can be used in the evaluation of building heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems as part of indoor air quality (IAQ) investigations were described, based on NIOSH evaluations. An opening conference should be held with both building management personnel and a representative from the affected office staff in attendance. Following this meeting a walk through inspection of the HVAC system should be conducted to identify the type of HVAC systems involved and system configuration. During this survey the investigators should determine the HVAC air circulation flow paths and locate the major components of the system, the locations of outside air intake vents, and the locations of potential sources of mold or mildew accumulation. Interviews with building occupants were described. A check should be made of absentee rates for current and previous years. A review of HVAC design specifications, measurement of indoor environmental conditions and ventilation rates, and collection of indoor air samples should then be conducted. Criteria for evaluating indoor air quality included outside air rates as well as indoor air contaminant levels. Recommended measures for improving IAQ may include providing adequate outdoor air, having efficient recirculating air filtration systems, providing constant air circulation, removing stagnant water from HVAC systems, discarding microbial damaged materials, establishing adequate preventive maintenance programs for HVAC systems, balancing the HVAC system, preventing tampering with thermostat settings, maintaining video display terminals, providing adequate housekeeping, and dealing effectively with specific air contamination sources. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Air Pollution, Indoor Environmental Health Environmental Monitoring Occupational Health Safety Ventilation
• Keywords:
  Indoor-air-pollution; Air-quality-monitoring; Closed-building-syndrome; Ventilation-systems; Ventilation-equipment; Air-sampling-techniques; Office-workers; Air-quality-measurement; Indoor-environmental-quality
• Publisher:
  American Industrial Hygiene Association
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Proceedings
• Place as Subject:
  Missouri ; Ohio ; OSHA Region 5 ; OSHA Region 7
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  87-98
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00238248
• Citation:
  The Practitioner's Approach to Indoor Air Quality Investigations, Proceedings of the Indoor Air Quality International Symposium, May 23, 1989, St. Louis, Missouri 1989 May; :87-98
• Editor(s):
  Weekes DM; Gammage RB
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1989
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Source Full Name:
  The Practitioner's Approach to Indoor Air Quality Investigations, Proceedings of the Indoor Air Quality International Symposium, May 23, 1989, St. Louis, Missouri
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:7dc847c09aedf140bc731323e8446b4703641ae07d6ad9e7b7238120dab30b8f7dcaa9b938d34d035f87873a0fe7fec262d5d13dcaf290925445e82b6de3b57d
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/243602/cdc_243602_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 168.02 KB ]